Rail brace and clamp.



G. E. ST. JOHN.

BAIL BEAN; AND CLAMP.

PPLlCTlO FILED JUNE 19.19l/1. L Q., Pateutef?. Dec. 29, 1914.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

G. E. ST. JOHN.

' RAIL BRACE AND CLAMP. APPLICATEON FILED JUNB19,114.

Patented Dec. 29, 1.914.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Witmwow G. E, ST. JOHN. RAIL BRACE AND LAMP. APADLICATNN HLEDJUNB1Q- Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

P SHEETS-SHEET AUNITED ,srirrns PATENT, OFFICE.

" enuncian. sury donn, or anni., cnoRGIA.

o.ailfaili7.19m..itmflz/Concern:` f B1 it known thatlr, GEORGE E. ST. l JOHN, a' vcitizen iof VAtheLUnited States, residing at Adel, .in vthe county of Berrien yand State .of Georgiaphave 'inventedl certain new and useful. ,improvements in Rail Braces and Clamps' of which'the following is a specii- Cation,. Q

This invention relatesito a rail brace and clamp@w Y v 4.

. vThe principal 'objectof the invention isto provider improved means for releasably but securely' cqnuecting'lthe railsv with the tie and4 to ,prevent the rails from spreading.

Another,objectofl the invention is to provide a fastening device which Vwill bevery strongandgdurable and not 'liable toy slip cnt of place 'whenconnected with thetie. o

Another object of the, invention is to pr.0 Vvide a device which is very simple in construction and which may duced at a very'small cost. t

Another object of the invention is to so construct the deviceA that the truss which prevents the spreading of the rails will also therefore be proprovide means for assisting in holding, the l rail. v

This invention is illustrated 'in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure; 1 is a side elevation of a tie pro-Y vided with the improved rail securing means; Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the structure shownin Fig. 1;v Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the structure shown in lFig. 1; Fig. 4 is a view showing the tie and rail fastening means in end elevation with the rail shown in side elevation; Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a perspective-view of the' major jaw of one of the rail clamps; Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the auxiliary jaw which coperates Withthe jaw shown in Fig. 6; and Fig. 8 is a sectional view take along the line 8--8 of Fig. 4.

The rails 10 rest upon the tie 11 and are secured thereon by means of the improved securing device which forms the subject matter of this-invention. These securing devices or clamps are connected bv the rods 12 which are adjusted longitudinally by means of the turn'buckle 13 so that the clamps may be held steady and thus prevented from anv danger of movement which would permit the rails to spread. Nuts 14 and 15 are placed upon the truss rods 12 as shown in,Fig. I' and form abutments and v Specicatioii of Letters Patent. Patented De, 29, i914, appuatignemanuele,1914, serial Nb. 346.1710.

will be readily seen that these clamps are duplicates and therefore a description of one of theseclamps will sutlice for both.'

` In Fig. 6 there is [shown the main section or jaw oi this clamp and from an inspection of this figure it will be readily seen that the main section or jaw comprises a head 16 in which'a -bolt opening 17 is formed and from which there extends an arm or ba'r 18 provided ywith bolt rreceiving openings 19. This main vjaw is placed against' the'tie and is' secured tothe same by means of bolts 20 which pass through the bolt receiving' openings" 17 and 19. A tongue 21 extends upwardly vas shown in Fig. 6 and overhangs the head 16 so that it will engageithe'base and web of the rai-l, when in a position as shown in Fig. 1. A linger 22 extends from the head l'and 'is provided with bolt receiving openings 23 throughwhich the securing bolt 24 and truss rod 12 pass.

After the `major jaw hasl been secured to the tie by means of the bolts 20 the auxiliary jaw shown in Fig. 7 and designated by the number 25 is put in place with its tongue 26 engaging the base and web of the rail as shown in Fig. 1 and its finger 27 engaging the linger 22. The bolts 24 are now passed through the .upper openings' 23 formed in iinger 22 and upper ,openings 28 formed inplace the turn buckle 13 is turned to tighten the truss rods and place the same under tension, thus forming a very strong vbrace which will prevent any danger of the clamps being broken or loosened thus permitting the rails to spread. lVhen it is desired to remove one of the rails for any pur? pose it is simply necessary to remove the truss, bolt 24, and the center bolt 20.' The auxiliary jaw will then be free and may be removed, thus releasing the rail and permitting to be` removed and'a new one put in piafN Without it being necessary to remove the major jaw.

What is claimed is l. A tie, clamps connected With said tie, each of said clamps comprising a major jaw having a head, an arm extending from said h'ead along said tie, means passing through said head and arm and connecting said major javr with said tie, a. tongue lextending from said head to engage a rail, a finger extending from said head and provided with fastener receiving openings, an auxiliary jaw provided with a tongue for engaging a rail and with a finger engaging the finger of said major jaw and provided With fastener receiving openings registering With the fastener receiving openings of said first mentioned tongue, a fastener passing through said auxiliary jaw and through the arm of said major jaw and through said Lie,- fasteners passing through certain of the registering openings of said fingers, and a rod passing through the remaining registering openings of said fingers and provided with adjustable abutinents engaging said' fingers.

'2. A securing device for a pair of railsv comprising clamps having jawsprovided with fingers having registering openings formed therein, securing means passing through certain of said openings, and'bracing means passing through the remaining openings'and assisting in'holding the jaws of said clamps in an operative position.

3. A securing device for a pair of rails. comprising clamps each having a head, an arm extending from said head, a tongue ex tending from said head, `a finger extending from said head, an auxiliary jaw fitting 40 against said head and arm, a tongue for said auxiliary jaw, a finger for said auxiliary jaw engaging the finger of said major jaw, securing means releasably connecting said fingers, and bracing means for said clamps passing through the-fingers of said clamps.

a. A securing device for a pair of rails comprising clamps having jaws provided with fingers, fastening means connecting said fingers, and bracing means for said clamps engaging said fingers -to assist in vlholding the jaws of said clamps in an oper ative position.

In testimony ,whereof I afx my signature in presence of two witnesses.

. GEO. E. ST. JOHN. Vitnesses r i :A. D. COBB, S. J. HARMELL. 

